Firefighters make even more progress battling deadly Arizona blaze

By Greg Botelho, CNN

Updated 0359 GMT (1059 HKT) July 6, 2013

Photos: Arizona wildfire15 photos

Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – A deadly wildfire leaves behind little but a burned-out car and the remains of a house in a Yarnell, Arizona, neighborhood on Wednesday, July 3. The fire started a week ago near Yarnell, apparently because of lightning strikes. Nineteen firefighters were killed Sunday, June 30, battling the blaze northwest of Phoenix.

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Photos: Arizona wildfire15 photos

Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – An aerial overview shows the devastation in Yarnell on July 3. Crews have begun making progress on the wildfire, which reportedly was 80% contained by Thursday night, July 4.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Smoke from the Yarnell Hill Fire is visible from a distance on a road to Yarnell on Monday, July 1.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Local firefighters embrace July 1 at a Prescott, Arizona, memorial service for the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire, northwest of Phoenix.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – A couple embraces during the Prescott memorial service for the fallen fighters on July 1. The elite team members' deaths on Sunday, June 30, marked the deadliest day for firefighters since the 9/11 attacks.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Members of the community give a standing ovation as local firefighters arrive at the July 1 memorial service at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Toby Schultz lays flowers on July 1 at the fence of the fire station in Prescott, Arizona, the home base of 19 firefighters who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Flowers hang on the fence outside the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew fire station on July 1.

Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – A wildfire destroys homes in the Glenn Ilah area near Yarnell on June 30.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – A wildfire burns homes near Yarnell on June 30.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Tanker 910 makes a retardant drop on the Yarnell Hill Fire to help protect the Double Bar A Ranch near Peeples Valley on June 30.

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Deadly wildfire burns in Arizona – Firefighters move away from the Yarnell Hill Fire, near the town of Yarnell on June 30.

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Story highlights

Yarnell Hill Fire is 90% contained, up from 80% earlier in the day

19 firefighters' deaths were not preventable, Sen. John McCain says

Their deaths "brought the town together more," a Prescott resident says

A memorial service for the fallen firefighters is set for Tuesday

Another day, another reason to cheer -- after a week of tears.

Five days after 19 firefighters died while battling it, the Yarnell Hill Fire northwest of Phoenix, Arizona, was 90% contained, official Twitter and Facebook pages tied to the firefighting effort reported Friday evening.

That's an upgrade from the 80% containment from earlier in the day, and well above the 45% mark Thursday.

Authorities had announced they'd expected the blaze to fully under control by July 12, though it now seems they are ahead of schedule.

The Arizona firefighter victims 19 photos

The Arizona firefighter victims19 photos

The Arizona firefighter victims – Nineteen firefighters, part of an elite group called the Hotshots, died while battling a wildfire about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix on Sunday, June 30. Here are the 19 victims: Andrew Ashcraft, 29.

Officials have said it appears that, after conditions changed rapidly, the 19 lied down under fire shelters -- blankets meant to protect against flames and heat as a last resort against an inferno. But the flames overwhelmed them, and all died.

"As far as we can tell, that this tragedy was not something that was preventable," Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said on Friday. "A freak movement of wind shift that took place is the primary cause."

They will be remembered Tuesday at a memorial service at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley that will be attended by, among others, Vice President Joe Biden, according to McCain.

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These weren't the only fatalities of firefighters battling wildfires this week.

In an unrelated incident Friday morning in California, a firefighter died when a passing car struck him while he was working along Interstate 10 in the Thousand Palms area of Riverside County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Authorities later identified the apparatus engineer/paramedic as 41-year-old Christopher Douglas, a Temecula resident and 8-year veteran of CalFire who is survived by his wife and 2-year-old son.

As to the Yarnell Hill Fire, it was sparked June 28 by lightning some 3.5 miles west of Yarnell, according to Inciweb, a federal website that disseminates information from agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

It eventually scorched at least 8,400 acres. According to the Yarnell Fire District, homes or structures at 129 addresses were lost and many residents were ordered to evacuate.

Since it erupted, and particularly since the firefighters' death, many in the area have rallied behind one another.

The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, the charitable arm of the state's Major League Baseball team, announced that it is donating $200,000 on top of more than $100,000 that its fans donated in a four-day span.

Prescott's annual Fourth of July celebration took on special meaning, including a display of 19 solitary, purple fireworks rising into the sky in memory of each man killed.

Christina Johnson, a Prescott resident, told CNN affiliate KPHO that she felt it was important to remember the "honorable men (who) died to protect us and our property" -- something she said was important for them, their families and the community at large.

"Prescott is a wonderful city, full of caring people, and I think it's brought the town together more," she said. "It's unbelievable. It's such a loss."

They were part of an elite squad confronting wildfires on the front line, setting up barriers to stop the spreading destruction. But in their unpredictable world, it doesn't take much to turn a situation deadly.